Not a WIP Wednesday

I refuse to conform, so this isn't my WIP.  This is my sister-in-law with the latest addition to her family.  

A beautiful baby girl born 4:14 CST, Monday October 24th (The day after Car Guy's birthday - He told her that this was NOT what he asked for - Ha Ha.) A whopping 8lbs, 3 oz. As you can tell from the picture, she makes beautiful babies.  

We'll get back to our regular (alright - irregular) schedule of random yarny goodness tomorrow.

SAFF - Revisited

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful day! I am happy and tired. I think my girl Mel summed it up perfectly when she said she has a "too much fun with my girls weekend hangover." I don't think I've had that much fun or laughed that hard in a long time. There were a several laughing/crying moments.  I read somewhere that you can burn a lot of calories by laughing and that's a good thing because something needed to offset the stew, meatballs, cake balls, etc. These girls are the best!

But I know why you're here...you want to hear about SAFF...Well here you go...

Annie found us a wonderful "cabin." It was at the top of a half paved road and I swear we heard banjo music as we drove up....like in the movie Deliverance. Then the road switch to paved and there it was, surround by the beautiful trees.  Do you see the tower there?  It had the most amazing views of the mountains and foliage.  It's peak season for the leaves and the colors are amazing.

 This is the view - I'm afraid the pictures can't capture it.  It was absolutely breath taking.

Friday was spent getting settled in.  After we ate dinner at the cabin, we went to The Chocolate Lounge where we had various chocolate delicacies and enjoyed each others' company. I had what is called a Pots de Creme. Rich, dense chocolate custard with rich coffee and whipped creme...OH. MY. GOODNESS! It was heaven in a cup. We were by far the loudest, funnest group there. There are two phrases that seem so innocuous that will always make me smile...."Read it out loud" and "I do not have THAT."

Saturday morning, we got up with the sun and after breakfast, headed to SAFF. Once we got there, we went straight into sensory overload.  It was amazing.  There was so much to see and touch.  The colors were amazing and it was so difficult to make up my mind.  I know I stood in one booth for twenty minutes scratching my head.  It's moments like this that make me wish I were independently wealthy. Here is just a sample of what we saw...

Pictures do not do this free form sweater justice.  It was absolutely gorgeous

There was so much to see and do. I came away with some beautiful purchases, incredible memories and new friends (Waving to Suz, Jana and Fru).  So thanks for including me ladies! You are amazing! Can't wait until next time! Is there a spring show anywhere?!?!

Wednesday?

How did it get to be Wednesday so quickly?  This week is FLYING by.  I'm really kind of glad since I'll be going to SAFF this weekend with my Yarn Girls.  I'm sure to have some lovely pictures from that.

Source

We've had some major activity around here.  I don't know if you have been watching the news, but the President came to my little North Carolina home town and spoke at the community college.  I wasn't able to go and it was probably just as well.  The media was telling everyone that if they had classes or needed to be on campus, they needed to be there by 7:00 AM...not me man.  If you hang around for any length of time, you'll find that I am NOT a morning person. But he sure stirred up some excitement and brought national attention to my neck of the woods.  It's a little surreal to the the community college I attended on the national news.

I don't know how many of you remember me starting this shawl.  I started it a while back as a Christmas gift.  I mentioned when I started that I wasn't really happy with it, but that I'd gotten to far into it to frog it....Well, about that.....Frogged. It just wasn't working for me.  The yarn wasn't cooperating, the needles weren't cooperating and every time I picked it up, I'd heave a deep sigh, like "Oh My Goodness! Do I REALLY have to work on this thing?" That statement is enough to explain why it was frogged.  If you don't enjoy working on it, why bother.  I've decided to crochet a shawl instead.  The request was for "one of those lacy shawls" but not that it be knitted - big sigh again....of relief.

I finished the shawl with the Malabrigo yarn.  I LOVE it.  I think the family was getting a little tired of it when we had a brief cold snap because I was wearing with everything.  That yarn is so amazing! It truly is a knitted hug - LOVE it - I know I've said it already, but I'll probably be saying it for a while....love, Love, LOVE!


OK.  Sorry about that. I'll behave now...probably not, but anyway....I don't know if you'll hear much more from me this week since I'll be leaving Friday for SAFF.  (Did I tell you I was going?) So I hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Oh!  Quickly, before I forget.  I don't know how many of you have smart phones, but a lot of them have an auto correct feature when the user is typing and the results are hilarious!  If you need a good pick me up go to this site.  I promise you will laugh.  Fair warning, some of them are a little racy and have bad language, so if you are the least bit sensitive or easily offended, don't go there. Otherwise, ENJOY!

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  Happy Friday!!

 Inspired by Amanda Soule - Feel free to join in and share a link to your moment.

Beach Days

Hello Everyone!  Hope all is well in blog land. I am feeling pretty good myself after a weekend at the beach with Car Guy.  The Boys remained home and stayed with a friend of ours (Thanks Sweetie!!)  Call me silly - I know Number One Son will be 18 next month (YIKES!!) and Number Two Son will be 16 in December (another YIKES!) but I just don't like the idea of leaving them home alone.  I'm not worried about what they would do because they are fully capable of taking care of themselves and they do appreciate the "wrath of Mom."  However, I can't speak for other teenage boys when they find out that some one's parents are out of town, so I just don't take the chance. It's OK, you can call me over protective but I prefer to be smart and aware than deal with the consequences later.

Several of you commented on the beautiful beach picture in my last post.  I wish I could take credit for it, but Number One Son took it.  He's got a good eye if I do say so myself.  I enjoy his photos and thought I'd share that one since I was headed to the beach. 

Oak Island Light House

Car Guy and I had a wonderful relaxing weekend at Oak Island.  We arrived late Friday night totally exhausted.  We had just enough energy to walk down to the beach and say "hello" - a tradition started in my childhood. We walked back to the house, fell into the bed and awoke Saturday to a beautiful sunny day.

South Port Marina

After breakfast, we drove over to South Port, a historical southern port town, and wandered through the antique stores and galleries.  South Port has changed so much since I was a child and is absolutely gorgeous.  Evidently, the antique stores attract a lot of attention from out of state.  Here is a conversation that Car Guy and I actually overheard:

Lady One:  "Did you make it to the Derby this year?"
Lady Two:  "No, we've been a few times, but we usually just go to the Breeder's Cup."

Well alrighty then.  I hope they spent a ton of money and didn't catch us giggling.

We had a quiet dinner out at a little pub and then went back to the house where I worked on my latest project. This is a picture of it as I worked on it in the car on the way home Sunday. I completed it at home Sunday night and am so totally in love with Malabrigo yarns now. Not only is it G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S., it is an absolute joy to work with - so soft and yummy.  I would love a blanket out of this, but would end up in the poor house if I tried to buy enough yarn to make it.  That's alright.  I have my own little bit of Malabrigo heaven and I'll show you once I get the pictures taken.

Here are some more pictures from our weekend. 

South Port Marina

Beautiful Beach Front Dream House.

Protective Dunes

Oak Island Pier

As much as I've enjoyed revisiting the weekend with you, I'm afraid that I must get back to the real world. Have a wonderful Tuesday!

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  In this case, more of what I'm looking forward to...

Inspired by Soulemama

Ugh!

I must be hitting a dry spell.  I feel like I have a creative block. I know that I'm having a major case of "start-itus." I've started all these projects and just don't feel motivated.  The last thing I finished was my hat. The scarf is almost done, but still on my needles.  And Christmas gifts?!  Yikes!  Not a one is finished!  They all feel so endless.  Do you ever feel like that?  Like "I wish these socks would just knit themselves because at the rate I'm going, they will never be finished?" Thus the "Ugh"

I met with my knitting/crochet group last night, which is always fun.  But I think I was making faces at the wrap/shawl (one of the many Christmas gifts) while I was working on it.  I just can't seem to "jump on it."  So, what have I done to combat this problem?  Oh Dear.  Ahem......I've started another project....for me.....this will NOT get the Christmas gifts finished.....but...it's Malabrigo and it's been sitting in my stash since last week...and it's sooooo gorgeous.....

And that's a lousy picture.

This one is a little better.  

But do you see what I mean?  It is so beautiful and feels like silk.  So yummy!

So I'm hoping that maybe this will motivate me.  I'll make myself a pretty little shawl and I'll take my basket to the beach with me this weekend. Maybe, while we're there, I'll sit on the beach and work on all my projects.  And maybe, dare I say it, I'll finish one?  Oh wouldn't that be lovely?  How do you deal with these blocks?

More Beautiful Yarn...

Today you get a treat.  A post of mostly pictures...with little running commentary from me.  Because I've been asked, here are pictures of the yarn I purchased over the weekend.  I am now officially broke.

First, my Malabrigo ....Gorgeous! 

Cannot stress how much I love, Love, LOVE this yarn.

 I really just want to crawl into this stuff.

 Silvers, purples and greens. Yummy!

Now the JoJoLand Fantasia

 Love the colorway.  It makes me think of a box of crayons.

The next three are some of my bargain bin yarns. 

Not really sure what they are other than pretty.

Here's the sock yarn.  Pretty greens and purples.

This is a worsted weight with blues and emerald greens that bleed together.  

It doesn't show well in the photos but it is subtly gorgeous.

 I'm not sure if this one if lace or fingering weight yarn.  

I'll have to measure the WPIs, but it is so soft!

These last two are some more bargain yarns.  

They are both merino superwash and the colors are so bright.

So there you have it.  The beautiful yarn that is now happily sitting in my stash. I've been trolling Ravelry, and I'm sure to come up with some wonderful patterns. Until then, they will sit quietly, waiting and periodically getting checked on to see if they have any ideas of what they want to be.  Hope you enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed purchasing them. Hmmmm...it seems that all the green left my wallet and now resides in my yarn! Have a wonderful afternoon!

Geek Outs and Yarn.

I don't know about the rest of you, but there are a few people that I admire enough to get a little giddy when I meet them. I managed to only have one major geek out moment at the Conference Saturday and I didn't even have a conversation with this person.  It happened when we first got there.  We were walking through the lobby and this tiny little whirlwind goes blowing past us at ninety miles an hour and I blurt out "Holy Crap, that was Doris Chan." This woman is my crochet hero.  She is an amazing designer and I love her designs because NO seams!  That, in and of itself, is enough to make me like her work, but all of her designs are beautiful and usually, if you pay attention (cough, cough) not too complicated to create.  I have all of her books and have made several of her pieces, so seeing her there was the bonus plan.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see or talk to her later in the day.  However, I did get to meet the amazing Lily Chin and I had a mild geek out moment and had my picture taken with her.  I'm such a dork!  She's another extremely talented lady and was very sweet. Here is a link to some her books. I think I'm going to have to do some book shopping!

My day was not totally filled with geek out moments....for the most part.  I did manage to see some beautiful and very colorful yarn.  Are you ready?

There were tons of sparkly yarns and a lot of vibrant colors.  For example...

I kept threatening to steal this one.  I don't think I would have gotten very far.

Aren't these great?  Talk about amazing socks!  Wonder how long that took...

All in all, it was a wonderful day and I do believe that I went into sensory overload and forgot to take pictures.  I spent way too much money and had an amazing day.  I was told that SAFF will make this look like child's play, so I'm in a lot of trouble.

Finally, I leave you with what we saw as we left for the day....

This made my trippy hippy heart skip a beat or two.  Lovely yarn and lovely friends.  Pretty close to perfect.

Oh! The Things I've Seen!

Happy Monday Everyone!  Can a Monday be happy? Let's just pretend OK?  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  I had a FABULOUS one. I spent Saturday with my friends Dawn and Melanie at the Chain Link/TKGA Convention and I must say I was in fiber heaven!  I'll post more about this tomorrow once I get all of the pictures off the camera, but I will share a little tease....

Do you see that all fiber beauty?!?!  Can you say Malabrigo, Jojoland, Superwash Merino? OH MY GOODNESS! I spent way too much money, but had a wonderful time at my first convention.  In a month, I get to do it again when I go to SAFF with these same lovely ladies!  Until then, I am on a strict fiber diet.  Must...save.....money.....I'm sure it will be worth it.

Yesterday, I met my Dad and Step-mom for lunch and a lovely visit.  It's so amazing to see my boys standing next to my Dad.  They are almost as tall as he is (6'4") and it's a little crazy to see how much my babies have grown. They used to look waaaaay up to him and now they are almost eye to eye. There are times I wish I could make them toddlers again and slow the whole process down. *Sigh*

I spent the rest of yesterday on the sofa recuperating and knitting.  I've discovered that I love the sound that yarn and bamboo make - that quiet swish. It's very comforting and meditative. I've been using the Araucania yarn that I purchased last week and it's so lovely to work with. This is Amanda Soule's "My Hat of Choice."  The pattern is easy to follow and it wears well contrary to what my Boys have to say.

Since I still have another whole skein left, I decided to make a scarf to go with it. I picked Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's "One Row Hand Spun Scarf." This is another wonderful "new knitter" pattern because you only have to remember one line of pattern (even I can do that!) and it show's off the yarn beautifully. I thinks it's so cool the way there is a pattern in the colorway in the scarf that just "showed up" as I knitted. I also love that I can wear it with the hat and they will look good together, but won't look too matchy, matchy.

Well, lunch break is over, so I have to get back to work.  I'll be back soon with more pictures for you.  Hope the start of your week is a wonderful one!

Lovely Friday!

Oh you sweet friends!  Aren't you just wonderful?!?!  Thanks so much for your kind, supportive comments! They mean so much.  I'm a very fortunate person because I have an amazing support group in my friends here and home.  You all bring a HUGE smile to my face :)

Guess what?!?!  It's Friday!  If you can't tell, I'm so excited!  This weekend is the TKGA and the CGOA are having The Knit and Crochet Show and it's right in my own back yard!  I'm going with my lovely Yarn Ho's and Hookahs and I know that we will have a BLAST!  Number One Son has been picking on me all week - making jokes about the "Rager" that I'm going to.  He wanted to know how many rocking chairs were required for this event....funny boy. That's alright.  There will be gorgeous yarn porn everywhere and I can't wait!  I'll try to take some pictures - if they let me. 

Photo Courtesy of my Sainted Mother

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I leave you with pictures of the Purple Pumpkin I came home to Wednesday.  My Sainted Mother saw it at my friend Susan's store and said it "Screamed Melissa." So she decided I had to have it and took it over to the house before I got home.  The writing says "Ghouls Night Out."  Isn't it too cute?  And my mother is right, we all do need a purple pumpkin....Right?

Finding My Rhythm

Photo Courtesy of Number One Son

I don't know if it's been apparent, but I've been off my stride for a little while.  Nothing terrible but there has been a disconnect.  This has been going on for a while now.  There has been a bit of dissatisfaction that has lingered around. I can blame part of it on hormones and I'm not using that as an excuse.  A couple of years ago, I had "that" female surgery.  They removed my "junk" as Number One Son put it.  My "junk" would be my ovaries, uterus....I really don't need to go any further, you get the picture.  By doing this, I was thrown immediately into menopause and let me tell you it was ugly. This was not a gradual slide into menopause most woman have, but a hit you up side the head with a cast iron skillet "Hello!"  So, to make a long, nasty story short, it took a while to get my hormone levels back to a normal level so that I was myself again. But...and there's always a but...something still wasn't right. I wasn't happy. And that's hard for me to admit because I generally an easy-going, happy person. Now before anyone gets worried, I had not fallen into depression but I wasn't happy.

I had hoped that once I had my hormones at the correct level, all would be well.  I will have to say that there was a GREAT improvement, but things were still off. This meant that I had to look deeper....into me. Yikes! I don't know about the rest of you, but that's a scary prospect.  Self examination is a difficult task, even on a good day but when things are off kilter, it's even harder.  But I took a deep breath and dove in. That's when I discovered the disconnect.  It wasn't that I was unhappy with me as a person, it was that I was unhappy with my actions.  I was coasting. Now, when you're riding a bike, coasting is great.  You enjoy the breeze and get to take a breath.  But coasting in life, not so much, because you miss a lot.  I was still there for my family and friends but there was no passion in what I was doing. I was just going through the motions. Ugh!  That just sounds bad! It was like everything was going on around me and I was standing still.  How many of you have experienced this?  Talk about a rude awakening!

Photo Courtesy of Number One Son

So last night, when everyone was home, I informed the family that there was going to be a change. We were all going in different directions and passing each other but not seeing each other.  I was missing my family.  They were passing me by and I was missing some very precious moments.  It almost makes me cry to think about it! So the games were turned off.  The television was turned off.  Music was turned on softly. And we talked while I cooked dinner. And we sang old Hall & Oates songs together.  Then we sat down to the table and ate dinner...together. Why had we gotten away from this? Busy schedules?  Please! And we talked about our day. We joked and we laughed.  Then the Boys cleaned up the dishes and we went into the den and watched some TV together and we talked some more  - about what we were watching, about the garden that we are going to plant this Spring (our first one ever! Eye rolls from the Boys), about what gifts we were going to get for family this Christmas (and which ones we were I was going to make) - and I was engaged again.  I was involved. 

Photo Courtesy of Number One Son

And as I stood outside, holding the umbrella over Number One Son's head so that he could take these pictures, I felt whole again. I was happy and life was good.

P.S. Thank you everyone for your Birthday wishes!  They were so sweet and greatly appreciated!

Monday Catch Up

Happy Monday Everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Mine was FAB! I didn't mention it last week because I've found the older I get, the quieter I am about it, but my birthday was last Wednesday. It was wonderful and spent with my family.  My Sainted Mother made an amazing dinner for me and gave me a GORGEOUS Waterford Crystal Bowl that she bought for me when she went to Ireland - lucky thing!  I'll try to take a picture for you when the sun comes back to my little corner of the world and my camera battery is charged - I'll explain in a minute.

On Saturday Morning, Car Guy and I had to run errands. I also had a little bit of cash burning a hole in my pocket courtesy of  Fabulous Frankie.  I've been wanting a basket that I can store my WIPs in so that they are all in one central place, but can be moved around easily and it was my lucky day...

I apologize for the horrible picture!  I'm afraid that the last time we went to my Grandmother's beach house, I left our spare camera battery and charger plugged in behind the chair and totally forgot about it.  So all my pictures are being taken with my phone that has no flash.  We've been having a lot of gray weather so everything is a little dark. 
The basket is a lovely deep green, so deep that it's almost black.  And if you can't tell from the picture, it's huge.  I was so pleased! And on top of that, I got it for $9.00-Yeah!

I also managed to find some gorgeous yarn.  It's a hand painted  wool/silk/camel blend made by Araucania called Lauca.  This stuff is incredible! I bought it at a close out store and paid $5.99 a skein.  I was only able to get two skeins, so I went surfing last night to see what I could find out about this stuff.  I finally found it at JimmyBeansWool for.....$19.99 a skein - Yikes! You gotta love a bargain.  I spent part of my day just  holding this stuff.  Car Guy asked what I was doing and I told him I was trying to find out what this yarn wanted to be.  He gave me a quizzical look and so I said that I was waiting for the yarn to speak to me.  He laughed and said "hand it over."  He proceeded to unwrap the skein and hold it for a minute.  Then he wrapped it around his neck and sat there watching the TV for about five minutes.  When he took it off and handed it back to me he pronounced that the yarn wanted to be a scarf. I think he may be right.  How scary is that?  I think I might be rubbing off on him :) Anyway, those were the sweet gifts that Fabulous Frankie got me.  He has such wonderful taste, don't you think?

Finally, have I mentioned lately that I have some amazing girlfriend? Here I thought this birthday would slip past quietly, but not with these ladies.  They - and their husbands - came over Saturday with the most wonderful food - Cantaloupe wrapped in Prosciutto, Taquitos, Stuffed Chicken Breast (stuffed with broccoli and cheese), Tomato and Mozzarella cheese skewers and so much more.  And of course there was something sweet - pound cake covered with chocolate and raspberry sauce - so amazing! It was a wonderful celebration with wonderful friends.

So, as you can see, I had a WONDERFUL birthday and weekend and am truly blessed.  Hope everyone else has been just as fortunate.